Leaving Atlanta is a novel told in three distinct voices. LaTasha, Rodney, and Octavia are fifth grade classmates living in Atlanta during the time of the real-life child murders in 1980-81. The kids may be living under the same cloud of fear and dread, but Jones demonstrates with some amazing tonal shifts how different their experiences and feelings are. I hadn't read much about the book before starting it, so when the book opens with Tasha's section, I expected the entire novel to center aroun...

For me, this is the first story that I can ever remember reading that shared my voice as a child growing up in a major Southern city. It took place at a time when, first of all, it's tough growing up and being eleven years old and then to deal with a real-live nationally-known bogeyman lurking around the city (the Atlanta Child Murders case). My own memories of that time are vivid; when they found another child, we were in fear several hundred miles away. Leaving Atlanta gave life to the black c...

With the Atlanta murders of 1979–1981 as it’s backdrop, Tayari Jones’s debut novel tells the story of three Black children: LaTasha, Rodney and Octavia. The book is broken into three sections, one for each of the children, and written in 3rd, 2nd, and then 1st person perspective respectively. Jones shows a lot of promise as a writer from this debut (I’ve only ever read her latest novel, An American Marriage before this one and I LOVED it). And while I wasn’t as emotionally invested or gripped by...

This is a book that will stay with me for a while. It's shattering, both due to the heavy subject matter and the perspective, so there's no way to respond objectively to the story. I chose this book both for its familiarity (I lived in Atlanta for four years) and for the challenge (my white suburban upbringing differed drastically from the childhoods of the main characters).Tayari Jones has crafted a story that is both easily accessible and starkly honest, which she does brilliantly by inhabitin...

Leaving Atlanta tells the story of classmates Tasha Baxter, Rodney Green and Octavia Harrison during their fifth-grade year at Oglethorpe Elementary in Atlanta. "Might nothing. Think about it. You ain’t never heard of nobody black going around killing people for no reason. That’s white people’s shit."Tasha is eager to return to school to show off her jump rope skills after practicing all summer to perfect her moves. If she can perfect her foot work then she may gain a spot in the clique of Monic...

Leaving Atlanta takes place in Oglethorpe Elementary School in 1979, during a period when 20+ African American children were abducted and murdered. Some children have never been found. Although Wayne Williams' arrest stopped the murders, he has maintained his innocence. No one has been convicted of the murders.Tayari Jones attended Oglethorpe Elementary School during the period when two of her schoolmates were abducted and killed. She tells Leaving Atlanta from the perspective of three bullied 5...

Let me begin by saying this was my first read by Tayari Jones. But, it won’t be my last. Secondly, it took me back to a sad time: the Atlanta child murders in 1979 - 1981. During this time over 20 children and young adults were murdered. Thirdly and most importantly, for the first time, the story was told through the eyes of the children. The writer enabled Octavia, Tausha and others to show the readers the effect that this had on them and how their innocence was taken as well as their lives for...

While I waited for her newest book from the library, I took her two previous ones out and just finished Leaving Atlanta which I loved - the author has a beautiful way or writing that brings you right into the story and keeps you interested throughout - I just started her next one “The Untelling” and I’m enjoying it very much and can see how her writing became even better - I can’t wait to read An American Marriage

This is my third Tayari Jones novel and her writing feels like truth. Messy, uncomfortable, and ultimately beautiful. I appreciate how undone she leaves her endings: loose and pulsing with life. She reminds me of Toni Morrison.

WOW. I literally engulfed this book within a day's time. I have other book club monthly reads and just wanted to start a few pages of this book; then, I couldn't put it down.This book was published in 2003 and this is my first time hearing of it. I lived in Atlanta then. The author's ability to capture and express the candid expressions, fears, perspectives, and voices of so many black middle school voices (in the midst of the Atlanta Child Murders) is nothing short of brilliant. I enjoyed this

Leaving Atlanta is a story that definitely left its mark on me. Even as I moved on to reading other books, I found my mind returning to the characters in this book, wondering about them as if they were real people I interacted with in my life. Maybe it's because the main characters were children, naive to the world, that I wanted to reach out and protect. Whatever the reason, I was thoroughly impressed with this novel, and probably even more so because of the depth of the story despite its simpl...

This books definitely kept me intrigued. This is my second Tayari Jones novel and it was so different from An American Marriage (which I really enjoyed). I love the way she develops characters and makes you feel as if you truly know them. The Atlanta Child Murders was something I first discovered about a year ago when stumbling upon the Atlanta Monster podcast. I was intrigued to know more about who the killer was and the stories of these poor children. Although fictional, this book was definite...

In this, her first novel, Tayari Jones illustrates the fears and joys of children on the cusp of adolescence within the backdrop of one of the most frightening national tragedies that most people have not even heard of: the Atlanta Child Murders. Narrating the stories of three 5th graders, (Tasha, Rodney, and Octavia) using third, second, then first person point of view, the story flows like a classic jumprope game, with two of the three children taking a background role while the third stands i...

Felt like a first novel, but a very good one. Rich, easy-stroke characterization, confident language, and a fascinating (albeit nightmarish) setting. Switching from third to second to first person is an effective mechanism for drawing the reader in--and oh, your heart just clenches for these kids, who are wondering who to trust in late 70s Atlanta during an infamous child murder spree.

Every blogger/reader has to have a few authors that they champion, that aren't being read enough by their peers. Tayari Jones is that author for me. Why aren't more people reading her books? Why don't more people know her name? READ Tayari Jones! I can't wait for Silver Sparrow.

(originally published at http://nomadreader.blogspot.com)The backstory: Leaving Atlanta is the first novel by Tayari Jones. After adoring her most recent novel, Silver Sparrow (my review), I finally got around to reading this one ("finally getting around to reading" was the theme of much of my holiday break binge-reading!) The basics: Told in three parts from the perspective of three black middle school students in southwest Atlanta, Leaving Atlanta takes place at the time of the notorious A...

I’m a huge fan of Tayari Jones and have had her debut novel on my TBR ever since reading Silver Sparrow. So glad I finally placed the library order. Set against the real-life backdrop of the terrifying murders of black children in Atlanta in 1979, jones provides the children’s viewpoints, living in fear — not just of the murders but of all the unknowns and scary things that come along with 5th grade, puberty, and living as a black youth in Atlanta. Surprisingly, I felt more sadness and longing t...

This is my first Tayari Jones read. The novel was exceptional written(my opinion). It is an emotional, heartbreaking read. I don’t recall much about the “The Atlanta Child Murders” prior to reading the novel which brought awareness to a dark time in American history.

I enjoyed reading this account of the Alanta child murders as related from the viewpoint of three children. It makes one remember that children are children. They don't think like adults nor should they be expected to and one should always keep this in mind when dealing with issues involving children.Leaving Atlanta, delves into different levels of coming of age in a time of racial inequality, parental disciplinaary actions, class disctinctions and the reality that children are being taken by so...

It’s funny the things one thinks about in the early morning. After a 2 am feeding, I lay in bed trying to find my way back into dreamland (it’s usually difficult, as once I’m up, I’m up). And I was thinking about the last book I finished, Leaving Atlanta by Tayari Jones, and how it’s taken me quite a while to sit down and write about it. Because it deserves to be written about. I eventually drifted off to sleep (only to be woken by the wee reader’s grunts around 630 as he stirred but didn’t quit...